Is It Possible That Ben Carson Displays The Signs Of Asperger’s Syndrome?

This is an updated reblog of a prior post, dated 11/16/2015.

Sonya Carson with Curtis and Ben

Many are puzzled by Dr. Ben Carson’s commentaries about political matters which are difficult to follow, with facts, out of left field. These behaviors doesn’t jive with his impressive background. After all he is obviously a brilliant doctor who has been chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital for numerous years. He’s famous for having been the first surgeon to have separated conjoined twins. As a Yale graduate with a medical degree from the University of Michigan which he achieved despite his impoverished background in the projects while being raised by a single Mom, one wouldn’t expect him to speak nonsense. His story which endears him to the religious evangelical community is one of him being transformed by his faith from an angry young person who acted out on occasion, to one who learned to restrain his outbursts as he became an exceptional student.

It’s my impression that the media political pundits have been attempting to somehow make sense of how this obviously, legitimately brilliant doctor can say somethings which seem incredulous to most listeners such as the Egyptian pyramids were originally designed to store grain; and that adults choose to be gay is proven by prison sexual activity.

His latest recent embarrassing fubar occurred when the Democratic Rep. Katie Porter questioned Dr. Carson, as the Head of HUD (Housing Urban Development) where he couldn’t answer simple questions that were pertinent to his job. He became confused over a real estate term REO (Real Estate Owned) with the cookie Oreo.

For me, the way he thinks, alone disqualify him from being the head of any governmental entity, especially in an area where he has no expertise. He’s anti-evolution and a climate change denier, despite his scientific background. He defines Obamacare and abortion as being equivalent to slavery. He reasons that the Holocaust occurred due to gun control. His argument is that if Jewish families had guns, the Nazis could not have accomplished their mass murders. He has argued that a mass school shooting wouldn’t be successful if those being attacked rushed the shooter. He seems unaware that in a 2015 Oregon event, the shooter was jumped on by a brave young man who suffered several gun shots. Then of course, there are very young victims who aren’t in a position rush anyone. In 2 instances in 2019, young people sacrificed their lives to protect other students but this shouldn’t be a normal expectation.

Dr. Carson states that he met General Westmoreland.

A (November 2015) example is another case in point, which demonstrates how Dr. Carson can be confusing when he discusses a subject where he lacks knowledge. He decided to publicly announced that the Chinese were participating in the middle east conflict. He may have been befuddled because of some misleading media news found in a 9/28/15 RT article which published the following: “Meanwhile, an Israeli military news website, has cited military sources as saying that a Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning-CV-16, has already been spotted at the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean coast.” But this news story had already been debunked by a 10/14/15 Reuters’ posting: ” Chinese media has also described these reports as speculative nonsense.” Every foreign policy expert including Susan Rice, US National Security Adviser havd labeled this data as completely bogus.

Ben Carson

There are those in the media and others who seem to be questioning his pathologically soundness by being openly dubious about the events described in his own words in his book made into a TV movie, “Gifted Hands.” They have raised doubts about his youthful tales regarding his unsuccessful attempt to stab another boy, because of a belt buckle impediment; hitting his Mom with a hammer; hitting a school mate with a lock; protecting high school fellow classmates in a classroom while rioting broke out; and his having been offered a full scholarship to West Point.

It is my own opinion that disparaging someone’s hard earned and well deserved reputation should be based on hard evidence. The press interviewing a few of his fellow classmates and neighbors is not sufficient to disprove Dr. Carson’s memories. Donald Trump’s show of contemptuous disbelief on how someone’s belt buckle could possibly impede a knife attack, is acting like an old man. Mr. Trump’s belt buckle would bear no similarity to the huge metal belt buckles that some young people wear.

Solid alloy big belt buckle

Based on my minimal research, it is probable that Dr. Ben Carson’s version of events in his popular book are true. For example, his writing about having an offer to attend West Point at a full scholarship does make sense because he was an exceptional student who led his High School’s ROTC program. It is entirely feasible that his ROTC mentor mentioned that he would be welcome as an applicant to West Point which would provide him an education at no cost. Because the application process is a lengthy one, no action was taken when young Ben Carson indicated that he was only applying to a certain college.

Character: Sheldon Cooper with Asperger’s affect.

In addition, there is a May 11, 1997 Parade Magazine article by Michel Ryan, titled “If You Can’t Teach Me, Don’t Criticize Me,” in which Dr. Carson’s Mom, Sonja Carson backs her son’s recollections. In the article , she was detailing how she raised two highly successful sons, Curtis Carson, an engineer and Dr. Ben Carson, a highly acclaimed surgeon while she didn’t have much of an education. She told how her sons were sometimes embarrassed about her lack of education but she would answer: “If you can’t teach me, don’t criticize me. ” This is why she decided to be an example to her boys by eventually earning her GED high school degree. The author questioned the Mom about what she thought of the movie scene, where a young actor recreated the moment when at 14, Ben Carson pulled a knife on a school mate. These are her words regarding her son’s temper: “Oh that really happened. I sat him down and told him that you don’t accomplish much by being a bully. You accomplish more with kindness than you ever do by being harsh.” The author then continues: “Sonya realized that the streets (Detroit) could easily ensnare her sons and she made it her job to ensure that-that would never happen. For starters, she made her boys come home to do their homework, and she limited them to 2 TV programs a week. The rest of their spare time, she decried, would be spent reading.”

Ben Carson

It’s my hypothesis that the brilliant Dr. Ben Carson is unaware that he exhibits symptoms of a form of autism, called Asperger’s syndrome. The reason for this is that most of today’s adults have never heard of this disability because until 1991 at the earliest, it was not even listed in the UK psychological text books. It is a disability in which a person can be gifted with exceptional skills while still having difficulties conveying their thoughts and / or interacting in a social setting in a non awkward way. They tend to be loners because of their inability to easily interface with contemporaries.

As per Wikipedia: “Asperger syndrome (AS), an autism spectrum disorder(ASD), is a relatively new diagnosis in the field of autism. It was named in honor of Hans Asperger (1906–80), an Austrian psychiatrist and pediatrician. An English psychiatrist, Lorna Wing, popularized the term “Asperger’s syndrome” in a 1981 publication; the first book in English on Asperger syndrome was written by Uta Frith in 1991 and the condition was subsequently recognized in formal diagnostic manuals later in the 1990s. Asperger called the condition “autistic psychopathy” and described it as primarily marked by social isolation. He called his young patients “little professors,” and believed the individuals he described would be capable of exceptional achievement and original thought later in life.”

Those who compensate well, can be highly functioning because many have the ability to retain huge amounts of data, while also being able to think outside of the box. In a small setting such as the pediatric neurological hospital office area, a gifted doctor could be reasonably accommodated, as those around him, learn to make allowances for his social miscues as they learn to adapt their communication skills to be more literal and specific while asking clarifying type questions for better understanding.

An intellectually gifted academic with Asperger’s without any political experience, is definitely not a good fit to be a member of a president’s cabinet in today’s complex political world.

Sheldon Cooper of the “Big Bang Theory” exhibits Asperger’s traits

The following is some information about Asperger syndrome and / or high functioning autism from the National Autistic Society’s website (NAS): www.autism.org.uk

“There are many people with Asperger syndrome in the world.”

“You cannot tell that someone has Asperger syndrome by looking at them. Because of this, Asperger syndrome is sometimes called a hidden disability.”

“Asperger syndrome lasts for all of a person’s life.”

“It can be genetic. This means Asperger syndrome can pass from parents to their children.”

“People with Asperger syndrome can do a lot of things and learn a lot of skills.”

“They can have a good IQ and may go to the same school as children who do not have a disability. IQ is a way of thinking about how much you can learn and what you can do for your age.”

“They may be bullied at school because other children think they are different.”(This could explain why a teenager would act out in anger and why a faith based accepting social network could be helpful in providing constructive redirection.)

“They may be very good at something. For example, they may be very good at maths, art or music.”

“They may be very good at learning information.”

“They may be good at concentrating on one activity. Concentrating means to focus your mind on one thing.”

I’ve watched him be so politically tone deaf and clueless that it’s hard to account for his truly being a gifted surgeon who headed a major department in a highly rated medical institution John Hopkins.

It’s almost trying to compare night and day. I offered a theory about what could offer an explanation.

It’s an interesting notion.
Another explanation could be as follows.
He is a highly talented man who has concentrated all his talents and work into one relatively small area of Life Experience and thus has had a limited interaction with the larger scope of the world.
Now when pitched into High National Politics’ odd mix of unreality and hard-practicality, it is a bit like being thrown out into a stormy night, blindfolded. Add to that he has the misfortune of serving in the most dysfunctional group of self-serving extremists you can get this side of a democracy then it could be argued, small wonder he gets confused.
This could have a person retreat into their own circle of wagons where there will be plenty of off-the-wall support (any ‘odd’ comments about gays will garner a truck load of support from the reactionary section of society).
Just a thought.